Virgin Media claims its customers will not only benefit from reduced costs, saving £5 per month on each tariff, but also from unlimited calls and texts to other Virgin mobiles.

Virgin Media director of mobile Jamie Heywood said: 'When we launched over 10 years ago as the world's first mobile company of its type, we revolutionised the market, and this is another such landmark. As people look for the best value, we’re rewarding loyalty with some amazing tariffs with unlimited offerings that our customers can enjoy without worrying about hidden extras, as well as helping to combat bill shock.'

The new tariffs will include insurance for no extra cost. Heywood said the service, worth £7.99 per month, provides 24 hour guaranteed handset replacement in the UK if it goes missing or is stolen and includes Mobile Rescue, which automatically backs up all contacts as well as allowing customers to lock and locate the handset remotely.

Heywood added: 'An overwhelming number of consumers don’t believe that mobile insurance is necessary and won’t consider taking insurance through their mobile provider because it’s too expensive. For too long mobile providers have failed to offer insurance that represents value for money.

'We were astounded to find so many people were prepared to gamble when it came to protecting their handsets, which is why we are now the only provider to offer inclusive insurance as standard for our loyal customers at no extra cost.'

Virgin Media said the new range of pay monthly tariffs will be available on 24 month contracts and it will inform customers by text when they are nearing the limits of their allowance. Virgin Media’s smartphones also come preloaded with a ‘My Account’ app so customers can keep track of their monthly allowance and, if necessary, move up or down the tariffs at any point in their contract without penalty.

Virgin Media is also launching a new range of flexible ‘Sim-only’ tariffs. The tariffs work on a rolling monthly basis, with ‘Premiere’ starting at £20 for cable and national customers, who will benefit from unlimited data, texts and calls to other Virgin mobiles and UK landlines.